Wind farm projects are propelling at a rapid rate

Posted: 04/05/2012

Yet another proposed site for a wind farm, this time it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world if permission is granted for the site in Scotland’s Moray Firth, off the East coast.

The company who have applied to Marine Scotland for planning consent is Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd, a joint venture between Repsol Nuevas Energias UK and SSE Renewables.

The proposed site for the wind farm is located 13.5km away from Caithness coast and around 11 kilometres away from the deep water wind farm development to the North East, which is a 2 turbine Demonstrator Project set up by Beatrice.

The company proposes to develop between 147 to 277 extra turbines, depending on the size of turbine that’s chosen to be the most appropriate.

A date for the decision is not known but the managing director of SSE Renewables, Jim Smith spoke to the Planning Portal and said, ‘If the planning application is successful, any final decision to invest in the project is unlikely to be taken before 2014 at the earliest.’

In other related news Countryside campaigners and environmental groups have collided over onshore wind farms.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England group have claimed that onshore wind farms are damaging valued landscapes and invading some of England’s most serene areas. They do insist that they are not anti turbine but want ministers to ensure that sites for wind farms are strategically placed so not to intrude on the beauty of the landscapes.

On the other hand, the Friends of the Earth group has declared that around 66% of the UK are in favour of wind energy but they understand that there will always be sensitivity for the sites of wind farms. They claim that the largest threat to our countryside is climate change and that is exactly why wind farms are so crucial for the protection of our environment.

What are your opinions on wind farms? Do you think they will eventually make a huge difference to what type of energy resources we use or do you believe that we are damaging our countryside and coastline for renewable energy that will never meet the demands of the UK?